Allow Ajax.Request to use any HTTP verb without the antiquated _method= URL fallback. (Closes prototypejs#280)

Author: savetheclocktower

src/prototype/ajax.js

@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@
  *    `XMLHttpRequest` is used asynchronously or not. Synchronous usage is
  *    **strongly discouraged** — it halts all script execution for the
  *    duration of the request _and_ blocks the browser UI.
+ *  * `body` ([[String]]): Specific contents for the request body on a
+ *    method that sends a payload (like `post` or `put`). If it is not
+ *    provided, the contents of the `parameters` option will be used instead.
  *  * `contentType` ([[String]]; default `application/x-www-form-urlencoded`):
  *    The `Content-type` header for your request. Change this header if you
  *    want to send data in another format (like XML).
@@ -57,9 +60,8 @@
  *    encoded into the URL for a `get` method, or into the request body for the
  *    other methods. This can be provided either as a URL-encoded string, a
  *    [[Hash]], or a plain [[Object]].
- *  * `postBody` ([[String]]): Specific contents for the request body on a
- *    `post` method. If it is not provided, the contents of the `parameters`
- *    option will be used instead.
+ *  * `postBody` ([[String]]): An alias for `body` that is provided for
+ *     backward-compatibility. Its use is discouraged.
  *  * `requestHeaders` ([[Object]]): A set of key-value pairs, with properties
  *    representing header names.
  *  * `evalJS` ([[Boolean]] | [[String]]; default `true`): Automatically `eval`s

src/prototype/ajax/request.js

@@ -183,12 +183,6 @@ Ajax.Request = Class.create(Ajax.Base, {
           this.options.parameters :
           Object.toQueryString(this.options.parameters);
 
-    if (!['get', 'post'].include(this.method)) {
-      // simulate other verbs over post
-      params += (params ? '&' : '') + "_method=" + this.method;
-      this.method = 'post';
-    }
-
     if (params && this.method === 'get') {
       // when GET, append parameters to URL
       this.url += (this.url.include('?') ? '&' : '?') + params;
@@ -209,7 +203,12 @@ Ajax.Request = Class.create(Ajax.Base, {
       this.transport.onreadystatechange = this.onStateChange.bind(this);
       this.setRequestHeaders();
 
-      this.body = this.method == 'post' ? (this.options.postBody || params) : null;
+      if (this.method !== 'get') {
+        this.body = this.options.body || this.options.postBody || params;
+      } else {
+        this.body = null;
+      }
+
       this.transport.send(this.body);
 
       /* Force Firefox to handle ready state 4 for synchronous requests */
@@ -235,7 +234,7 @@ Ajax.Request = Class.create(Ajax.Base, {
       'Accept': 'text/javascript, text/html, application/xml, text/xml, */*'
     };
 
-    if (this.method == 'post') {
+    if (this.method !== 'get') {
       // Don't set the `Content-Type` header if the user has explicitly set
       // `contentType` to anything falsy.
       if (this.options.contentType) {

test/unit/server.rb

@@ -54,6 +54,12 @@ class UnitTests < Sinatra::Application
     })
   end
 
+  # The '/inspect' endpoint should be available regardless of HTTP method.
+  def self.handle_inspect(url, &block)
+    %w{get post put delete patch options head}.each do |verb|
+      self.send(verb, url, &block)
+    end
+  end
 
   def self.get_or_post(url, &block)
     get(url, &block)
@@ -108,7 +114,7 @@ def self.get_or_post(url, &block)
 
   # Routes for Ajax tests
 
-  get_or_post '/inspect' do
+  handle_inspect '/inspect' do
     response = {
       :headers => request_headers(request.env),
       :method  => request.request_method,

test/unit/tests/ajax.test.js

@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ suite("Ajax", function () {
     assert.equal('Hello world!', h2.innerHTML);
   });
 
-  test('Content-Type set for simulated verbs', function () {
+  test('Content-Type set for obscure verbs', function () {
     new Ajax.Request('/inspect', extendDefault({
       method: 'put',
       contentType: 'application/bogus',
@@ -282,6 +282,39 @@ suite("Ajax", function () {
     }));
   });
 
+  test('verbs with bodies', function () {
+    var verbs = $w('post put patch');
+    verbs.each(function (verb) {
+      new Ajax.Request('/inspect', extendDefault({
+        method: verb,
+        body: 'foo=foo&bar=bar',
+        onSuccess: function (response) {
+          var body = response.responseJSON.body;
+          assert.equal('foo=foo&bar=bar', body, verb + ' should send body');
+        },
+        onFailure: function () {
+          assert(false, verb + ' should send body');
+        }
+      }));
+    });
+  });
+
+  test('verbs without bodies', function () {
+    var verbs = $w('get head options delete');
+
+    verbs.each(function (verb) {
+      new Ajax.Request('/inspect', extendDefault({
+        method: verb,
+        onSuccess: function () {
+          assert(true, verb + ' method should work');
+        },
+        onFailure: function () {
+          assert(false, verb + ' method should work');
+        }
+      }));
+    });
+  });
+
   test('onCreate callback', function () {
     new Ajax.Request('/fixtures/content.html', extendDefault({
       onCreate: function (transport) {